Nazi’s in Argentina - The Secret Lives of War

I have always been curious about the Nazi regime in Germany and the way it spread its influence across borders. In this blog, we will look into the secret lives of war criminals, various ways Fascist and Nazi officers left Germany to seek asylum in Latin American countries, in particular Argentina, and how a new culture of German-Argentine society was formed.

The Ratlines

The Ratlines were routes of escape used by high-ranking fascists and Nazi officers after the second world war. These routes mainly led them to safe havens in Latin American countries including Argentina, Paraguay, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Spain, Switzerland, Bolivia, The United States, Canada, and many more. The Catholic Church in Germany opposed the rule of Nazis. In the 1933 elections, the number of Catholics who voted for NSDAP was less than the national average.

Hitler and many other Nazi officials became hostile towards the church, despite being raised as Catholics. Article 24 of the Nazi Party Program called for conditioned tolerance of Christian dominance. Nazi’s began to repress Catholic powers by shutting down catholic schools, press, confiscating their property and reprisal of many clergymen during the Nazi rule. Apart from that, in 1933 the Vatican signed The Reichskonkordat to protect the rights of Catholics under Nazi rule. Pope Pius XI and XII felt concerned about the rise of communism and saw Hitler as a threat to Catholicism. 

At the same time, the Vatican stayed neutral on their stance regarding fascism, communism and nazism. The Vaticans relationship with the Nazi’s is hence complex and controversial. 

The Red Cross and Vatican both helped thousands of Nazi’s escape post the second world war. Many believe that the Vatican’s support was based on a hope for revival of Christianity and also due to their opposition to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Vatican Refugee Commission provided false identities to the war criminals. Organisations like the Red Cross which tried to support refugees assisted the escape of many Nazi’s through two main routes, the first went from Germany to Spain, then Argentina; the second, from Germany to Rome to Genoa, then South America.

The Vatican and ICRC often worked together to bring this aid to war criminals. ICRC took orders from the Vatican to provide travel documents to Nazi officials. Within six years of the six years of World War Two, over 120,000 travel documents had been issued by ICRC. The Vatican provided names for issuing these documents and Red cross complied without question. Support of the ICRC and Vatican was also based on belief of anti-semitism. 

Argentina’s Role

The question that arises when we think of the lives of war criminals in Argentina is why did Argentina support them in the first place? This answer is a combination of a variety of factors. First, Argentine President Juan Perón spoke out against the Nuremberg trials of war criminals. He saw the trial as a form of revenge rather than justice. Second, Perón also supported immigration from Europe, seeing these individuals as a benefit to the country's economy and also as means to gain political support. Argentina was trying to rebuild its economy after the war, and the presence of skilled immigrants was seen as a benefit. Third, Perón had long admired the fascist rule in Germany as he was an authoritarian ruler himself, this increased his willingness to support the Nazi war criminals. He ordered the creation of Ratlines for Nazis and fascists from Europe. 

Argentine diplomats and intelligence officers encouraged Nazi’s to make their home in Argentina, as per Perón’s instruction. Argentina aided in setting up additional ratlines in Scandinavia, Belgium and Switzerland. 

During the war, Argentina maintained a neutral stand which helped its government operate with minimal control of the Allied Powers, directly facilitating aid to Nazis. 

In fact, Argentinian Nazi Smuggling became legal and institutionalised upon the election of Perón’s new government in 1946. War criminals were given Argentine citizenship and employment. 

Key figures who fled to Argentina

Some of the key Nazi officials who fled to Argentina include Adolf Eichmann, Josed Mangele and Erich Priebke among others. 

1. Adolf Eichmann - Adolf Eichmann was one of the major organisers of holocaust. He assisted in planning mass deportation of Jews to Nazi ghettos and extermination camps across German occupied Europe. After his capture in 1945 by the Allies, he escaped and sought refuge in Argentina. He was later captured by Mossad Agents in 1960, tried in Israel and executed in 1962. 

2. Josef Mengele - He was a Nazi officer and physician during the Second World War at the Russian front and later at Auschwitz where he was nicknamed ‘Angel of Death’. 

He performed unethical and deadly experiments on prisoners at Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration camp. He was also a member of a team of doctors who selected victims for the gas chamber. He performed genetic research on human subjects, mainly on twins. His experiments were inconsiderate to the subject’s health and safety. After the war, he fled to Argentina and stayed in Buenos Aires. Later, in Paraguay and Brazil to escape the Allied Forces.

He evaded trial despite the Mossad and German forces' requests. He drowned in 1979 after suffering a heart attack and was buried under the name of Wolfgang Gerhard. 

German-Argentine societies

German-argentine societies have developed after extensive immigration from Germany to Argentina. 

These communities developed in the capital, Buenos Aires, and several other provinces such as Córdoba and Chaco. The German immigrants stayed closely tied to German culture and provided their children with German education so they would not be disadvantaged in case they returned to Germany. A new Germanic-Argentine identity was created. 

German culture has had extensive influence on Argentine culture. The Achtzig Schlag cake, translated as Torta Ochenta Golpes, is popular in Argentina. Dishes like chucrut and bratwurst have found their way into mainstream Argentine cuisine. 

Due to the decline of German, most German-Argentines don't speak German at home, however, they have knowledge of the language. However, it is the fifth spoken language in Argentina. 

A music fusion called chamamé, which is a fusion of Ukrainian, German, Polish and Guarani rhythms. 

Certain German architectural styles are visible throughout Córdoba and Patagonia.

 All in all, it's quite evident that Germanic-Argentine culture is spread throughout and tightly knit in Argentine society. 

The Hitler conspiracy

A quite interesting topic of debate for a while has been whether Hitler was in Argentina. There is no concrete evidence proving this stance. Conspiracy theories suggesting his presence are mostly theoretical. It was presented by leaders of the Bolshevik party. Also, in the 1947 American book, ‘Who killed hitler?’, a U.S. intelligence officer asserts there was no evidence of Hitler’s death in his bunker. The book suggests that Hitler’s demise remained ‘a mystery without an ending’. 

Conclusion

Writing this blog has helped me deepen my knowledge on various ways culture spreads throughout the world and how deeply tied it is to the political and social circumstances of a particular country.